The Lush Chef

Stressing out about making a creative cocktail for your honey on Valentine's Day? For a special evening, you don't want to be fumbling around with something complicated, so impress your lady or man with an innovative twist on a classic Manhattan.  The Red Rooster cocktail, which was created by mixologist Aja Sax from her days at the Drake Hotel, is red and sexy.  It's not to be confused with the cranberry vodka Red Rooster.  Yeah, totally different here.  I found this recipe in Food & Drink magazine, and it has so many of my favorite spirits — Italian amari like Averna and Aperol, bitters, and bourbon.  I opted for the smooth and mellow Four Roses' Yellow Bourbon, because roses are romantic, right?  Even if you're observing Singles Awareness Day like I am, you can still stir this up for your best friends and celebrate how fabulous you all are.

The Red Rooster

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 oz bourbon (I used Four Roses' Yellow Bourbon)
• 1/2 oz Averna
• 1/2 oz Aperol
• 3 drop orange bitters (I used Fee Brothers' West Indian Orange Bitters)
• 1 drop Angostura bitters
• 1 Luxardo cherry for garnish

- In a mixing glass filled with ice, add all the ingredients and stir, stir.
- Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish with a cherry and give your honey a smooch or say cheers to your friends.

Last Saturday was World Gin Day, so apologies, dear readers for not posting this recipe sooner.  I actually tested it out a couple of weeks ago, but never had the chance to post it.  This is what happens when you blog on the side and have a busy, full-time job!  Anyway, it's better late than never, right?  I tend to crave gin in the spring and summer because of its herbal and fresh taste.  Witness my post from a couple weeks ago using Fever Tree Bitter Lemon Tonic for G&T's - my go-to summer libation now.  Since my return from Italy in early May, I've also been finding ways to incorporate amari in my cocktails in any way possible.  The Kitchn posted a great recipe idea during Valentine's Day for His and Her's Gin and Tonics.  Well, what if I want the dude's version?  It uses Averna, which is one of the sweeter amari, and is a fantastic way to end a meal.  It's what I would envision an Italian doing to his or her's standard gin and tonic.  So salute!

Gin & Tonic - Italiano Style 

• 1 1/2 oz gin - I used Tanqueray
• 1 oz Averna
• Orange slice or peel
• 1 1/2 oz or more of tonic water

- In a glass with ice, add the gin and Averna, and stir until chilled.
- Squeeze the orange slice or peel and drop into the glass.
- Top with tonic water and stir gently.

The Lush Chef and her family recently returned from a 10 day trip through Italy, where we literally walked, ate, walked, drank, walked some more and ate and drank to our heart's desire through Florence, the Tuscan and Umbrian countrysides and finally ending in Rome.  Surprisingly, one can actually lose weight in Italy with the Lush Chef family's walking and eating regimen.  I highly recommend it.


Hotel cappuccinos put pretty much every US coffee shop cappuccino to shame, the best mozzarella and mortadella was consumed in every osteria we picked, gelato was deemed the perfect substitute for an actual lunch, and porchetta was shaved off in thick slices with plenty of "crostini" (the crispy, salty skin) at street stalls and served with little more than a fresh baked roll and some salt.

Huge slabs of meat were hacked off a cow in full-view by whom I've now deemed the meat cleaver-wielding "steak nazi,"and was proudly presented to us before he grilled it up at Osteria Acquacheta in Montepulciano.  And we drank plenty of that earthy Vino Nobile in the same glass as our acqua frizzante because of the proprietor's one glass policy — the glare you'll receive if you ask for another glass is just not worth it.  There was my brother's instant love of amaro (I'm such a proud sister) after sipping from my glass of Averna while perched at a table upon a hilly cobblestone street in Siena and tucking into our coffee crème brûlée.
My brother fully became enamored with amaro after our nearly daily stops for aperitivo.  It was our first day in Florence, dinner was late (per the Italian custom) and we were attempting to combat the tiredness from our overnight flight into Rome, the train ride into the city and the hours of walking to take in the sights.  My mom is a huge chocolate fan and was stopped dead in her tracks by the confectionary display at Gilli, a bar, cafe, candy store and restaurant that has been in the Piazza della Reppublica since 1733.  Being the lush that I am, my eyes wandered to the massive marble bar, and the impeccably dressed barista garnishing some Aperol Spritzs with orange slices.  My dad and my brother's eyes settled on the massive buffet of olives, cheeses, meats and other appetizers laid out on the bar.
Aperitivo is like happy hour in the US, but a hundred times better.  Starting around 6:00pm until about 9:00 or 10:00pm, and for about 6-10 euro (8-12 dollars), folks gather at the bars for a pre-dinner drink or "aperitivo" and a free buffet.  Some of the buffets were simple in nature — potato chips, taralli (pretzel-shaped spiced crackers), olives, pickled vegetables, cured meats and cheeses.  While others got a little more extravagant and put out a wide range of tapenades, vegetable spreads and little stews and casseroles.  Of course, if you're a true Italian or just want to fit in, don't go up to the bar a bunch of times and stuff your face.  Italians don't drink to just drink like so many American college co-eds.  If they're going to have any kind of alcohol, it's always going to be with food.  So put on a "bella figura" and be classy.  We quickly got addicted to this time of day.  After hours of sight-seeing, we always needed a moment to just sit, rest our legs, have a snack and a stiff drink.  My dad especially, since he braved Italian traffic with a stick shift on many of these days.  He's a saint.  And we prayed to many to help us navigate those endless traffic circles.

My dad enjoyed relaxing over a nice and inexpensive glass of Italian red (you can't go wrong with the house wine), while my brother, mom and I often opted for an Aperol Spritz, a traditional cocktail made with prosecco, Aperol (a bitter Italian liqueur), a little splash of soda water and an orange slice.  Stay tuned for the recipe next week!  When I needed something a little more fortifying, I opted for one of my favorite cocktails, the Negroni.  This also became another favorite for my brother — he plans on stocking up his non-existent bar with Campari, Averna and Aperol now.  Good kid.

Now that I'm back in the states, I truly miss aperitivo time.  Yes, we go to our requisite bars after work and have a delicious craft cocktail, but it's something about the spirit of aperitivo that bars back here just can't capture.  It's that idea of collectively relaxing and conversing before going on to a long and leisurely late-night dinner with your friends and family.  It's the concept of just slowing down and decompressing after a hard day at work.  Here in LA, drinks have been turned into a function of our jobs.  We're expected to schedule our entire month with breakfasts, lunches and drinks so we can network and wheel and deal our little hearts out.  Maybe it's time we scheduled in more aperitivo time into our lives, and to just remind ourselves that there's nothing better than stopping the clock for an hour to enjoy a cocktail.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a Libation Education on Averna, a bittersweet Italian liqueur in the amaro family.  It's perfect as an aperitivo on its own, but mix it with some sherry and orange bitters, and you've got yourself an insanely simple after-dinner cocktail.  I got the idea from The Kitchn for their Downton Abbey-themed cocktails and they named this one after the mysterious and yet lovable valet Mr. Bates.  The flavors kind of perfectly embody his character - bitter, sweet, old-school and classy.  They used Amaro Nonino, an amaro aged in French Oak which pairs nicely with sherry, but you can get creative and use whatever amaro you have on hand.  The Kitchn also recommended Pedro Ximenez Sherry, but again, use whatever is in your home bar and experiment.  You can't always run out to the liquor store to get specific brands every time you want to make a cocktail.  Just be smart about what you're pairing.

 Because I feel like Averna is on the sweet side of the amaro family, I paired it with a dry sherry instead of a sweet one, so there would be a nicer balance.  I also used my homemade Bitter Revenge Blood Orange Bitters because there's more of a tart flavor profile, as opposed to the more floral Fee Brothers' West Indian Orange Bitters.  I would imagine this libation would take a delightful twist with some lemon or grapefruit bitters as well.  Your guests will be impressed and I think even the Dowager Countess would approve.  It's not like one of those other cocktails that "look too exciting for this early in the evening."

Bittersweet After-Dinner Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 1 oz Averna
• 1 oz dry sherry
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• Orange peel, for garnish

- In a small glass, filled with cracked ice, add the Averna, sherry, bitters and stir.
- Twist an orange peel (peel-side down) over the drink and drop in as a garnish.

It's a new year, and it's been ages since I've done a Libation Education, so time to learn something new, lushes!  Amari, or Italian bitter liqueurs are having a huge love fest in the US right now.  They can either be mixed in cocktails or sipped as a digestivo (either neat or on the rocks) after dinner.  There are a ton of different kinds of amari out there and I could easily do post after post on all the various kinds.  Campari is one of the more recognizable ones, but Averna is starting to catch up in terms of name recognition and popping up in a lot of cocktails.  Cynar is also another amaro that I've talked about on this site and that I simply adore.

It's unclear when this exact recipe was created, as various Cistercian and Cluniac friars were producing it as a therapeutic tonic throughout Europe.  Salvatore Averna, after whom this amaro is named, was a benefactor of the Convent of St. Spirito's Abbey in Sicily, and as a form of thanks, the friars bequeathed him with the recipe in 1859.  In 1868, he started producing it for his household guests (lucky guests).  His son Francesco really started promoting the liqueur at fairs around Italy, and it became pretty well-known around the country and was receiving royal awards by 1895.  In 1912, Vittorio Emanuele III bestowed it with the royal coat of arms and it became the official supplier of the Royal Household.

Averna is a combination of bitter roots, herbs and citrus rinds that is infused in alcohol, with caramel added afterwards.  Of course the recipe is a secret, but it does have a distinctive flavor when you stack it up against Campari and Cynar.  It's the sweetest out of the three, so if this is your first time hopping on the amaro bandwagon, this is a good one to start with.  If you're looking for a fairly simple cocktail to start making, try my twist on The Last Word by substituting Averna for the maraschino liqueur.  I call it the Italian's Last Word and it's perfect for any time of year.

This coming Sunday marks the season 3 premiere of "Boardwalk Empire," and how could the Lush Chef not be a fan of a show about Prohibition?  I've been enjoying cocktails with Green Chartreuse lately, which seems to be experiencing a resurgence (expect a Libation Education on it soon) and ran across a Prohibition-era cocktail recipe that contains it.  "The Last Word" was created at the Detroit Athletic Club back in the 1920's.  So proud of my home state!  The drink was then popularized, and the name perhaps inspired by, a vaudevillian named Frank Fogarty who introduced it to New York.  In 1951, it got published in Ted Saucier's cocktail book Bottoms Up!, but then the drink kind of disappeared after World War II.  When the classic cocktail movement started, a bartender in Seattle brought the drink back to life.

The drink contains equal parts gin, Green Chartreuse, lime juice and Maraschino liqueur.  I didn't have any Maraschino, but I had just bought a bottle of Averna (another Libation Education coming!) and thought this Italian bittersweet liqueur would be an interesting substitute.  The bitterness perfectly balances with the sourness from the lime juice.  I also added in a brandied cherry to still get a little bit of that flavor.  Nucky Thompson would be proud.  After all, he likes to have the last word.



The Italian's Last Word
Ingredients:

• 3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 3/4 oz gin (I used No. 3 London Dry Gin)
• 3/4 oz Averna
• 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
• 1 brandied or Luxardo cherry

- Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with some ice and shake.
- Add a cherry into the bottom of a chilled coupe glass, and strain the drink in.